A HEROIC neighbour spoke yesterday about how he tried to save them from the blazing home.

Scott Williams, 34, of Stevelee, said he and neighbour Darren Sweeney attempted to rescue the three generations of the Buckley family who were trapped in the house, but the fire was too fierce for
them to be able to get close to the house.

Mr Williams said he was woken up by the blaze in the early hours and attempted to get into the house, along with Mr Sweeney.

After being unable to get into the front of the house, the pair then put a ladder against the house, but Mr Williams said they were unable to get near the home.

Mr Williams, who only moved into the area in July, said: “The windows were all melted by that point and there was so much smoke. I couldn’t hear anything.

The fire had been going for half an hour by that point.”

The Argus reported yesterday how Chief Inspector Steve Corcoran, local policing inspector for Torfaen, had praised neighbours who had “valiantly and bravely” tried to save the family, including the
two men who were using a ladder to try to gain entry to the building as the fire service arrived at 3.30am.

Area manager for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, Dewi Rose said 30 firefighters had attended the scene to find what he described as a “well developed” fire.

He said: “We worked extremely hard to extinguish the fire and save the people inside.”